Kukla's Korner Hockey

“You definitely know who’s watching you every night,” Duchene said Tuesday, several hours before the Avalanche played the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. “For me, I idolized both those guys growing up. It means a lot to me to put my best foot forward. I’m always looking over my shoulder, trying to be the best I can be.”

The biggest difference Duchene noticed between his previous coach, Joe Sacco, and Roy is that the old goaltender tends to hang around the players a lot more.

“After [playing] Nashville we had a meal after the game, we were all eating and he was in there with us sitting down on the couch having the same meal, just shooting the breeze and hanging out with us,” Duchene said. “Obviously there’s a huge respect level from us to him but it’s pretty cool he feels comfortable to do that with us. You feel more like a team rather than coaches and players. That’s really positive for us.”

The vibe is positive enough so far that the Avs went into Tuesday’s game with a 2-0 record against the likewise undefeated Maple Leafs (3-0). However, Roy says he knows where to draw the line when it comes to being familiar with his young team and Duchene agrees.

“Yeah, I definitely would,” Duchene said when he was asked if Roy is a player’s coach as opposed to a taskmaster like Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle. “At same time, we know he’s going to demand the most from us. So far, when we need a kick in the butt, we’ve got it from him.